Last year 49,000 people were naturalized as Dutch citizens. That is almost twice as many as in 2019, according to figures from the CBS. This means that the number of naturalizations has almost returned to the level of the late 1990s.
In order to become a Dutch citizen through naturalization, immigrants must in principle live in the Netherlands legally for five years and have passed their civic integration exam. In addition, almost 7,000 people acquired Dutch nationality last year through other arrangements, such as adoption and adoption option.
Most of the immigrants who naturalized last year were born in Syria. There were more than 15,000, which is 4 out of 10. They came to the Netherlands during the large refugee flow in 2014 and 2015.
Other common countries of origin are Eritrea (3600), Soviet Union/Russia (2000) and India (2000). Also, 9,000 people who were stateless or of unknown nationality were naturalized.
Naturalisatietoets
The number of naturalizations has not been this high since the late 1990s. The peak was 1996, when almost 79,000 immigrants were naturalized as Dutch citizens. At that time, it mainly concerned Turks, Moroccans and former Yugoslavs.
Since then, the number has fallen rapidly, mainly due to the naturalization test that was instituted in 2003. In the years that followed, the number was fairly stable at around 20,000 per year, until it started to rise again in 2019.
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